What are you reading in May 2015?

May we know what you are reading?

I've read two issues of Untold tales of the New Universe: Star Brand and Psi-Force, my favorite books in Jim Shooter's failed experience of creating a New Marvel Universe in the 80's.
While the Star Brand's issue is more a recap of the book's run, the Psi-Force's tells a good story that would fit in the 80's run.

I've just finished the first volume of Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo and it was so amazing that I can't wait to get my hands on the second. On the one hand I feel kind of dumb that my big-eyed-babies preconception of manga led me to ignore the whole genre up til now, but then I think - oh my! I have a whole country's worth of comic genius to discover & enjoy!

I've read the first few collections of Strangers In Paradise, and (as I feared) I'm hooked. Only 14 collections to go!

>1 apokoliptian: I'm loving the very creative intros you're coming up with each month. :)

>5 sweetiegherkin:
Thanks :)

Finished the V for Vendetta novelization. My review is here:

https://www.librarything.com/work/6350025/reviews/112786751

>3 EnidaV: I really enjoyed the Akira volumes. >4 edgewood: Ditto re Strangers in Paradise. I got hooked quickly, too. :-)

I just finished and liked the slice-of-life memoir Displacement by Lucy Knisley, and now I'm (re-)reading the final color volume of Bryan O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series, which just came out.

Complete run of Brubaker's terrific Criminal. Missed those books when they first came out.

I've read Red Rocket 7. Red Rocket 7 works as an alien Forrest Gump for the key moments of rock and pop culture in USA and UK. It is clear that Mike Allred is a big fan due to the factoids spread in the story.

Besides 7 being a conduit for the events, a good 50's sci-fi is developed in parallel. Allred's art is great and the portraits of the artist like Elvis, Beatles, Rolling Stones are perfect.

Highly recommended for those slightely interested in music and pop culture.

I've read the floppies equivalent to the Hawkeye Volume 3: L.A. Woman by Matt Fraction and Annie Wu. This TPB is centered on Kate Bishop, the Young Avengers' Hawkeye, but have no fear, it is not needed any Marvel catalogue knowledge to fun with it.

Fraction sent Kate to L.A. for a sabatical and we follow her struggling for earning money, being a small time hero and feeding her pets. Annie Wu's art gives a nice touch, portraing a smart young girl trully. Wrapping up (or filling the gaps) there is the annual drawn by Javier Pulido.

Fun in a cute way.

I must put it out: Read Fin Fang Four #1 from the Marvel Monsters event. It is like the whole Nextwave run rolled up in one issue. It is a riot!

I'm reading Vagabond, Vol. 37 (!) by Takehiko Inoue. This is a series I've enjoyed tremendously, but I've yet to run into anyone else who likes it.

>13 jnwelch: Just did :)
When did it reach 37? I am way behind...

>14 AnnieMod: Hooray! Glad to hear it, AnnieMod. It may be a small club, but it's a good one, right?

Vol. 37 came out in April this year. I envy you being way behind. I'll be all caught up again when I finish 37, and waiting impatiently for the next one . . .

Need to figure out where I left it off (somewhere ~15 is what is I seem to remember but 3-in-1s are causing some fun in my counting so need to check). And might as well just start over anyway - better than skipping a volume :)

I do not read a lot of manga - never got the taste for it. But a few of them beat all the odds and work just fine. :)

I've finished Ms. Marvel vol.1: No Normal. The premise: An american-pakistani girl gets powers (very similar to Doom Patrol's Elasti Girl) and the adventure starts. The spice (curry?) of the series is the sneak inside a different culture and how it clashes with western everyday.

This story is very simple and delicious and with Adrian Alphona's art is hard to not remember the Great Runaways.

Recommended to those who likes teenage superhero girls and tchai.

>16 AnnieMod: Yes, and the storytelling and artwork in ones like this and Lone Wolf and Cub are so different from what I think of as "manga" that they're not even in that category in my mind. Manga like Naruto and Attack on Titan unfortunately just don't work for me.

>17 apokoliptian: I second that endorsement of Ms. Marvel Vol. 1, apokoliptian. So refreshing here in the U.S. to see a Muslim family and superhero treated so matter-of-factly.

>18 jnwelch:

I'm not thaaaat on manga, but there are some works that I think that are recommendable even for people like me ;):
Akira, Mai: Psychic Girl, Crying Freeman, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

In the case of Mai, the art is stunning. About Akira, there is no need of foreword.

>19 apokoliptian:

Thanks. I LOVED Akira and Nausicaa of the Wind. I'll have to look for the others, especially Mai: Psychic Girl.

>20 jnwelch:
Last but not least, Deathnote. I've not actually read this one (I've watched the anime series), but the story and its turns are extremely well built and different from any comics on the racks.

I've finished Moon Knight, vol.1: From the Dead by Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey. Originally, Moon Knight was a Batman rip-off but Ellis managed to turn him into a The Question rip-off. (Drum track :)).

Jokes apart, Ellis crafted 6 one-shots that entertwines the urban vigilante, mystic aspects, egyptian influence and the Konshu creepness of the whole Moon Knight carreer, streamlining the character for a new audience.

Declan's art is like Michael Lark's and is totally suitable for all those aspects.

Unfortunately, they only produced these 6 issues. Now I must re-read it in a loop!

>22 apokoliptian: Warren Ellis's Moon Knight issues left me cold. But I loved Brian Wood's following run (issues 7-12, collected as Moon Knight Volume 2: Blackout), a real thriller.

>21 apokoliptian: Thanks!

>23 edgewood: I'm a Brian Wood fan, and will look for that. Local was my favorite so far.

>24 jnwelch: Another Brian Wood project I loved was The Massive, an epic eco-political-apocalyptic thriller that ran 30 issues, collected in 5 trades.

>25 edgewood: I read the first collected The Massive, and thought it was good, but haven't read the others. Sounds like I should.

Just finished Before Watchmen: Comedian/Rorschach, which was disappointing. The Comedian storyline was unnecessarily complicated and convoluted and in the end, didn't really add anything to his character arc. Rorschach's story was more promising but it fizzled out unsatisfactorily. This is the second work I've read by Brian Azzarello, and both times I've felt just "eh" by the end.

>27 sweetiegherkin:
I felt the same regarding Azzarello's run on Hellblazer or Superman: For Tomorrow. But I recommend you to try the 100 Bullets, vol.1: First Shot, Last Call. It is crime comics with some bigger mistery and has great art by Eduardo Risso.

>23 edgewood:, >22 apokoliptian: I just finished Ellis' Moon Knight also. I thought it was a bold reimagining of an appealing, but much abused character. The short jab stories were attention getting, but I don't think they'll sustain a series. I'm glad to hear that you liked Woods' continuation. I don't know his work, but I'll give MK 2 a try.

I finally read Stuck Rubber Baby, and it deserves its classic status. It's the story of a young man coming to terms with his homosexuality, against the complex background of the early 1960s civil rights movement.

>28 apokoliptian: From what I've heard, it seems like 100 Bullets is his best work. Maybe Azzarello does better when given the chance to create his own characters rather than trying to force his plots onto established characters.

>30 edgewood: Sounds like an interesting book!

I too loved Stuck Rubber Baby. The story is really good and important and the skill and beauty of the black & white artwork blew me away. Every last detail, down to earrings and things like kitchen appliances in the background, is period-appropriate and beautifully rendered in pain-staking cross-hatched detail.

>32 EnidaV: Yes, Howard Cruse's artwork was amazingly researched & detailed. I had previously only read his earliest underground work ("Barefootz"), which was charming, simple, & cartoony. Stuck Rubber Baby, both the story & art, is a masterwork.

I just got the 6th volume in Kaoru Mori's series, A Bride's Story. Love her artwork, and it's been a good story so far.

I am reading the floppies of Shield by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver. Forget everything you know! Shield is way older than you can imagine!
Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Galileo, they were all part of a organization that reaches back to 2000 years BC.

Hickman weaves an imaginative story that knits historic events with Marvel's reference, exploring Rosacrucian/ Masonry aspects, showing no staff super-heroes, but not forgeting action and character development (Imagine Galactus attacking the Renascentist Milan. The secret origin of the Gregorian Calendar. It is inside there!)

This is the book that I ever wanted to write myself!!! Hickman, I Hate You!!!

The cover are so stunning that I can't describe them. Dustin Weaver's art is naturalistic and fitting to all craziness.

Please, give it a try.

>35 apokoliptian: That sounds a little like The Kents which I totally loved. I've also been meaning to try Marvel 1602 I think it was called, but was unsure about it. Definitely going to see if I can find this one though.

>36 DanieXJ:
Marvel 1602 is an interesting concept and good story, but I think that Gaiman didn't put too much effort on it (he fared better in Eternals). It is fun (there is clever connection between Templars and a Marvel's hero).
The highest point is (IMHO) Scott McKowen's covers, with a very exquisite hatch style.

I will check the Kents. Thanks.:)

>35 apokoliptian: The S.H.I.E.L.D. miniseries sounds cool, and I see my public library has the collection. Onto my wishlist it goes!

>38 edgewood: And, from what I can see, there's a second volume in the series as well... :) (Yep, just what I need, more to read... heh heh...)

I'm catching up with Astro City. I just read the eighth volume, Shining Stars. It was excellent.

This morning I read Dark Entries by Ian Rankin. Interesting to see someone who usually writes 'traditional' novels try his hand at a graphic novel. The story is a John Constantine one and is rooted in his history, but it gives enough details about his relevant past so that this book stands alone. It was a good read, a little weird towards the end, but that's kind of a given when Constantine is involved.